Fereshetian, head coach of men’s cross country and track and field at Bates, was talking about Rob Gomez ’05 and the acclaim his former runner has earned for creating a defining moment at a prestigious Maine road race on Aug. 5.

With the finish line of the 10-kilometer TD Bank Beach to Beacon race in sight, Gomez slowed up to help a stricken fellow runner, Jesse Orach, get up and finish the race. Grimacing as he steadied Orach’s nearly dead weight, Gomez kept Orach, who was suffering from heat stroke, upright as he lurched the last few yards.

Although the pair were running in 22nd and 23rd place overall at the time, the stakes were still sky-high: Whoever finished ahead of the other would win the coveted men’s Maine-resident division of the race. And as they came to finish, Gomez stopped short and let Orach literally fall into first place. Then Gomez walked over the finish line, second.

Rob Gomez ’05 speaks to the Maine media after the Beach to Beacon on Aug. 5, 2017. (Photograph by Ann Kaplan)

The win was Orach’s second straight in the Maine division. For Gomez, who lives in Windham, the runner-up Maine finish was his best in 10 tries.

For helping the fallen runner, Gomez is being widely praised as a standup guy, and his deed — call it smart sportsmanship — has sizzled through social media and the news media.

Context matters, and this wasn’t your typical community road race filled with baby strollers and dogs. Founded by Olympic-gold marathoner Joan Benoit Samuelson, the Beach to Beacon attracts 6,800-plus runners each year, including Olympians and world champions who headline the 35-runner professional field.

And Gomez and Orach, both native Mainers, weren’t chugging along in 4,001st and 4002nd place, either.

Orach, a 2017 graduate of the University of Maine, was one of New England’s best college runners, and Gomez has been a top Maine road racer in recent years. He won the 2013 Maine Marathon and has two top-40 finishes at the Boston Marathon.

“Rob was running very, very well,” says Fereshetian. “His time, 31:31, is very fast.”

Coming around a final bend before the home stretch, Gomez only had a second or two to see that it was Orach on the ground and even less time to decide to pull him up. Still, his decision was an informed one.

“Rob respects and honors his sport,” Fereshetian says. “He knows exactly who he’s racing against. He and Jesse had just met the day before, but Rob knows exactly who Jesse is, and he know Jesse’s not just some guy he’s running next to.”

Like many great competitors, Gomez is a student of his sport. “Going into the race, you understand the runner’s body of work. You understand what he’s done,” Gomez says. “Jesse had a very good spring track year at UMaine. He was the favorite, and I was maybe his best competition.”

The race played out that way. “The first mile, I stuck with him,” Gomez says. “Then he pulled away. As a runner, I’ve done enough of these to know that it wasn’t going to be my day.”

Gomez looks at it this way. “Jesse’s performance needed to get the respect that it deserved.” Had Gomez passed Orach by, the result would “have been a hollow victory. I would have lamented the fact that I had won; it would have left a bad taste had I won in that manner.”

Since Saturday, Gomez has played out other scenarios in his mind. Of course, he’d have “no problem beating the pants off him in normal fashion.” And if the two had been neck and neck, “if I had fought to be that close, and if it was my race to win, I would have won it” and let Orach fall by the wayside.

“But within 100 yards from the finish [helping him] was the only thing to do. Because I believed, and still believe, that he had won the race.”

“Rob deserves a medal for what he did, but knowing Rob, he’d never wear it.”

Gomez has downplayed what he did, telling WCSH-TV that “I’m just a normal representative of what the Maine running community is all about,” and telling the Portland Press Herald that “maybe they don’t carry someone, but everyone wants others to succeed.”

Though he professes normalcy, Gomez does run to the beat of a different drummer, and he’s well-known for his distinctively generous, intense, and modest demeanor. As Samuelson told me, “Rob deserves a medal for what he did, but knowing Rob, he’d never wear it.”

“He’s very intense and focused about everything, and he was also one of the biggest supporters and cheerleaders for everyone on our team,” says Mike Downing ’05, a fellow runner at Bates who now owns Mount Chase Lodge on Maine’s Upper Shin Pond.

And while generous acts like Gomez’s occur on occasion in road races, “it’s not going to happen in most running races,” Fereshetian says. When it does happen, “it’s usually the result of the people and personalities involved,” Fereshetian suggests.

Rob Gomez ’05 runs for Bates as a sophomore in 2002. (Daryn Slover for Bates College)

In that sense, “Rob was a tremendous teammate who cared deeply about the guys on our team,” Fereshetian says. “And I’m sure his teammates would say there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for them.”

Downing agrees. “Rob is a great person and friend, and what he did has to do with the person he is.” In other words, the choice to help Orach is not a one-size-fits-all decision. “While it’s hard to say what I would have done, I would have probably decided to win the race and let the medical staff handle the situation,” says Downing. Alluding to the fact that runners can be DQ’d for helping or being helped, Downing believes that approach would be “the fair thing to do for everyone involved in the race.”

To be sure, Gomez’s deed probably reflects a mixture of Gomez’s personality and the culture of long-distance running, which is marked as much by camaraderie as by solo effort.

Beginning in high school and continuing to college, runners, especially cross country runners, “gain a strong sense of team,” Fereshetian says. After college, “in open road races, the only way to get that fellowship and that camaraderie is to recognize that in some form or another, that competitor next to you is your teammate, too. And I think that Rob carries that with him.”

A native of Waldoboro, Gomez majored in chemistry at Bates and was inducted into the Sigma Xi scientific research society as a senior. Today, he’s senior manufacturing engineer at General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems in Saco. Interestingly, Orach is also an engineer, at the Verso paper mill in Jay, Maine.

For his part, Orach, whose post-race body core temperature was reported to be 107.3 degrees, accepted his victory with grace. “I’m speechless with what he did,” he told the Press Herald, especially because the duo “was kind of vying for that No. 1 Mainer spot, and for him to give that up for me is pretty remarkable.” A bit more than bragging rights was at stake. Orach gets $1,000 for the win, and Gomez $500 for second. (Orach has said he wants Beach to Beacon to combine and split the first and second prize money evenly between the two.)

Joan Samuelson, a Bowdoin grad, parent of a 2010 Bates alumna, and recipient of a Bates honorary degree in 2015, addressed the intersection of winning and sportsmanship. Gomez’ gesture both epitomizes and transcends the sport, she says. “It showcases the very best of the human spirit.”

To be sure, “winning a race is a feather in one’s cap,” she says. “But carrying one to victory deserves a medal of honor that only a few people earn during their lifetime. Rob’s contributions to our sport should have been heralded long ago. His mentoring of young and aspiring athletes has been steadfast, unyielding, passionate, and inspiring.”

In addition to his day job at General Dynamics, Gomez has a running business, Eastern Shore Training, which provides online coaching and training plans for runners. He’s served as vice president and president of the board for Dirigo Racing Club, a premier road-racing club.

“At Bates, Rob loved running with a passion. And it’s great to see him being so engaged in the running community,” Fereshetian says.

]]>http://www.bates.edu/news/2017/08/10/tremendous-teammate-rob-gomez-05-forgoes-race-victory-to-help-a-fallen-runner/feed/0Audio: Our Bobcats’ journey to the NCAA championshipshttp://www.bates.edu/news/2017/04/14/audio-sounds-of-track-and-fields-journey-to-the-ncaa-championships/
http://www.bates.edu/news/2017/04/14/audio-sounds-of-track-and-fields-journey-to-the-ncaa-championships/#commentsFri, 14 Apr 2017 16:44:18 +0000http://www.bates.edu/news/?p=107133We were there to hear students talk about great professors back at Bates, the wonders of deep-dish pizza, and, of course, intense competition.]]>

When the Bates track and field teams headed to Chicagoland for last month’s NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, we were there to listen in on the Bobcats’ great adventure.

We heard about great professors back at Bates, their first taste of real deep-dish pizza, and, of course, the thrilling competition, including senior Allison Hill’s amazing journey to an All-America finish.

Take a listen:

]]>http://www.bates.edu/news/2017/04/14/audio-sounds-of-track-and-fields-journey-to-the-ncaa-championships/feed/1Video: All-Americans and friends, these throwers ‘like to scrap a little,’ toohttp://www.bates.edu/news/2016/04/22/video-all-america-throwers-and-friends-these-throwers-like-to-scrap-a-little-too/
http://www.bates.edu/news/2016/04/22/video-all-america-throwers-and-friends-these-throwers-like-to-scrap-a-little-too/#respondFri, 22 Apr 2016 17:09:48 +0000http://www.bates.edu/news/?p=100948All-America track and field throwers Nick Margitza '16 and Adedire Fakorede '18 talk about the alumni who encourage them and how they enjoy getting riled up before practice.]]>

Bates track and field throwers have been winning national titles and earning All-America honors since 1935.

Nick Margitza ’16 of Waterville, Maine, and Adedire Fakorede ’18 of Newark, N.J., are Bates’ latest All-America throwers, and they talk about their friendship, the alumni tradition that encourages them, and how they “like to scrap a little, to get riled up.”

]]>http://www.bates.edu/news/2016/04/22/video-all-america-throwers-and-friends-these-throwers-like-to-scrap-a-little-too/feed/0Video: 1935 NCAA hammer champ Anton Kishon ’37 shows his formhttp://www.bates.edu/news/2016/03/18/video-1935-ncaa-champ-anton-kishon-37-demonstrates-the-hammer-throw/
http://www.bates.edu/news/2016/03/18/video-1935-ncaa-champ-anton-kishon-37-demonstrates-the-hammer-throw/#respondFri, 18 Mar 2016 14:21:59 +0000http://www.bates.edu/news/?p=100035“I’d take him on the team right now," said Al Fereshetian, men's track and field coach, after seeing this archival clip of the famed Bates thrower.
]]>

“I’d take him on the team right now!”

So said Al Fereshetian, men’s track and field coach, after seeing this circa-1935 film clip of famed Bates thrower Anton “Tony” Kishon ’37 in action, probably on Garcelon Field.

“His form and technique are good,” Fereshetian says. “He’s relaxed and fluid. He’s not a big guy, which means he had to be better technically than others.”

Kishon won the hammer throw at the 1935 NCAA outdoor championships, held at Berkeley’s Edwards Stadium.

If there’s a difference in throwing style since the 1930s, says Fereshetian, it’s the footwork, which is key to the speed of the hammer.

Today, a Fereshetian-coached thrower would, within each turn, try to spend more time with both feet in contact with the ground. “That would mean ‘catching’ the ball earlier and rotating the right foot deeper into the turn before it leaves the ground.” So now you know!

Spofford holds the Bates record in the 60-meter dash, 7.09 seconds. While the 60-meter event is only a few years old, head coach Al Fereshetian points out that Spofford’s 55 time would be 10th-best in Bates history.

The point, Fereshetian tells reporter Travis Lazarczyk, is that Spofford is fast and getting faster. “Our expectations are very high. He put in a fantastic fall of training.”

Spofford is runninf the 60- and 200-meter sprints this winter, then will add the 400 during the outdoor season. “Ever since I was a sophomore in high school, people have told me I’ll ease into the 400,” Spofford tells Lazarczyk. “This year I think it’s going to happen.”

The Bates College men’s cross country team is ranked ninth nationally among NCAA Division III institutions, and the women’s soccer team made its debut in the national polls on Tuesday, ranking 21st.

The men’s cross country team has won three meets this season, including the State of Maine championship last weekend. The Bobcats’ lone finish outside of first came at the Open New England Championships, where Bates was 12th overall and fourth among D-III schools. The Bobcats have been ranked nationally all season, with this week’s ranking the highest in the tenure of head coach Al Fereshetian, in his ninth season at Bates.

The women’s soccer team is ranked third in New England, moving up from sixth last week. The Bobcats, now 8-2-1 overall, 3-2-1 NESCAC, posted a 6-0 win over Skidmore and a 4-0 win over Wesleyan last week. With three games remaining in the regular season, Bates sits in fourth in the NESCAC standings.

The men’s soccer team is also regionally ranked, sitting in ninth place in the New England polls. The Bobcats, who tied Wesleyan 1-1 on Saturday, are 7-2-1, 2-2-1 and are in sixth place in the conference standings with four games remaining.

Both soccer teams play a pair of road games this week, facing Trinity on Wednesday and Middlebury on Saturday. The men’s cross country team has this weekend off, but will compete for the NESCAC title next weekend at Colby.

Liz Wanless was named the U.S. Track Coaches Association Female Regional Athlete of the Year, and Al Fereshetian was selected as the USTCA Men’s Regional Coach of the Year for New England on Wednesday night.

Wanless ’04 (Belleville, Ill.) won the shot put at the 2004 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships with a meet record throw and has won the event at the New England Small College Athletic Conference Championships, the Division III New England Championships and the ECAC Championships during the outdoor track season. She enters the outdoor national championships as the top seed in the shot put with a toss of 53 feet, one inch, leading the field by more than five feet.

Fereshetian led the Bobcat men to the best season in program history entering the NCAA championships. Bates won the State of Maine Championship, then finished second at NESCAC’s, D-III New England’s and ECAC’s. The team also finished seventh at the Open New England Championships, tied for first among NCAA Division III institutions.

Bates has six men and two women entered in the 2004 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Millikin University in Decatur, Ill. Competition begins on Thursday at 11 a.m. CST.

Bates College junior Justin Easter of Jay, Maine, has produced the College’s second national champion in as many days, winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase today at the NCAA Division III track and field championships at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. Senior hammer thrower Jaime Sawler of Stratham, N.H., won his second career national championship on Thursday, capturing the hammer throw.

Easter, the top seed in the steeplechase headed into the national championships, won the race with a time of 9:02.02. He defeated second-place finisher Ryan Reed of Pacific Lutheran College by just over three-tenths of a second. Easter jumped out to an early lead during the first lap, then fell back into the pack for the next three laps. With about a mile to go, he returned to the front of the pack, stretching his lead to about 15 meters. Easter held off a hard-charging Reed to earn his first national championship. He had finished seventh and third in his previous NCAA steeplechase races in 2000 and 2001.

Sawler, the top seed in the hammer entering the meet, won Thursday’s competition with a throw of 188 feet, six inches. He defeated runner-up Justin Minor of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater by seven-and-a-half feet.

Sawler completed the 2002 season undefeated against Division III competition, also winning the 35-pound weight during the indoor track and field season. Sawler is the third athlete in Bates history to win multiple NCAA titles. He joins Wayne Pangburn (class of 1966), who won the NCAA College Division championships in the hammer in 1965 and 1966, and John Fitzgerald (class of 1987), who won the indoor 5,000-meters in 1986 and the outdoor 10,000-meters in 1987.

Bates has now won 12 individual national track and field titles all time. Easter’s is the eighth outdoors and the fourth under current head coach Al Fereshetian. He is the first Bobcat runner to win a national title since Fitzgerald’s in the 10,000. Bates’ previous four titles were won by field athletes, including Sawler’s two.

Behind the two championship performances, Bates scored 20 points, the most-ever by a Bobcat team. They were eighth overall and second among New England teams. The University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse won the meet with 64 points, while Wheaton College was the top New England team in fifth place with 29 points. The eighth-place finish was also the school’s best-ever finish at the NCAA outdoor track championships and matches the second-highest in any championship. The 1977 men’s cross country team’s sixth place is the college’s standard as a member of Division III, while the 1996 women’s soccer team also finished in a tie for eighth.

Junior Kelley Puglisi of Scotia, N.Y., earned her first career All-America honor May 25 by finishing third in the 1,500-meter run. Puglisi, who entered the NCAA championships as the 11th seed, finished third with a school-record time of 4:37.92. She broke her own record, set at the New England Division III championships on May 7, by nine-hundredths of a second. Puglisi was the top finisher from New England in the event. She placed seven seconds behind champion Missy Buttry of Wartburg (Iowa) College. Puglisi is the fifth woman in Bates outdoor track and field history to earn All-America honors and the first in the 1,500-meter run. Her third-place finish was the highest by a Bobcat woman at the championships since Heather Bumps (class of 1997) placed third in the javelin in 1996.

The six points scored by Puglisi helped the Bobcats to a six-way tie for 38th place. The finish was the highest for the Bates women since 1996, when they finished in 37th place.

For more information on athletics at Bates, please visit our Web page.